Alexander the Great

By: Philip Freeman

Narrated by: Michael Page

Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian Empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India.

In his lively and authoritative biography of Alexander, Philip Freeman describes Alexander's astonishing achievements and provides insight into the mercurial character of the great conqueror. Alexander could be petty and magnanimous, cruel and merciful, impulsive and farsighted. Above all, he was ferociously, intensely competitive and could not tolerate losing - which he rarely did.

As Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on the ancient world would surely not have been as great as it was, even if his motivation was not to spread Greek culture for beneficial purposes, but instead to unify his empire.

©2011 Philip Freeman (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An accessible biography...readers are sure to come away from Alexander's story with an essential grasp of the details and understanding of his character." ( Kirkus)

Good Reading

This is a wonderfully condensed version of the history of Alexander and his Conquests. Oftentimes in the story you will hear two versions from two different historians and then the author will conjecture about the plausibility of both. I love hearing those. While we do have the histories written by multiple authors, we cannot know they're authenticity. The truth will forever be lost of time leaving us only to wonder about how things really happened.

Examination of an Ingenious General and/or Tyrant

Enjoyable biography which explores Alexander’s Macedonian roots and Hellenistic education, then his evolution into a gifted general and/or tyrant, without hero worship. Narrative is unbiased and balanced with different historical sources that often differ yet the discussion does not drag the reader through excessive details like an academic thesis. Narrator is perfect. It is somewhat confusing at first when the text refers “The King” (Alexander) then in the next sentence, “The Great King” (Darius, the Persian King). The long, long, arduous journey of conquest covering thousands of miles over both land and sea is an amazing adventure. Discussion of Alexander’s sexual proclivities similar to that of Achilles is surprising and mind-opening.

Re: Narrative history

This a superb narrative style history on the title subject with a clear, concise and excellent narrator.

Masterpiece

The narrator was key to make this book come alive. The writing was second to none. I was fully immersed for the entire book. Thank you for creating such a wonderful piece of writing.

Great overview of Alexander

Overall the book was great and provided a thorough overview of Alexander’s life. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about Alexander the Great. That said, he had such an impact on history after him that I wish at least a little more would have been provided on the way his kingdom broke apart. I know this is a biography about his life, but I would have liked a little more about what happened over the next few years. Again, would highly recommend.

Good works

I am a nut for Alexander so have read quite a bit. The story covers the important points of A the G life so I consider this a solid piece of work. Presented well with the reading.

Excellent Book!

This was an excellent book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Although it is my first and only book on Alexandar so I don’t have a lot to compare it to.
The only (minor) criticism I have of the book is it’s reference to Alexander the Great in the book of Daniel. I do agree he is referenced in Biblical prophecy, but I believe the author interpreted the prophecy in Daniel 7 incorrectly. That prophecy was almost certainly referring to the Romans, which was the fourth and final kingdom in this series of prophecies. I can only imagine the author prescribes to the revisionist notion that the Bible is not inspired, the side effect of which is an incorrect ordering of the empires prophesied about in Daniel. The traditional and common sense view is that the Greeks were the third kingdom in the series. A more fitting (and also striking) prophecy in this light would be the eighth chapter of Daniel, which would have been a much better example to use!

Fantastic book

Great read for someone with little knowledge of Alexander the Great and his life.

Alexander’s life from birth to death

Freeman does a great job of breaking down Alexander’s life and the decisions he made. I have read several books on Alexander and I recommend this to anyone who is interested in this great character of history. The reading performance was exceptional.

Outstanding Scholarship Draws a Lively Portrait of a Great Workd Leader

This is an outstanding narrative of Alexander and his era and culture based on thorough scholarship. The reader is quite articulate and easy to follow. Alexander is presented as a flawed individual but an outstanding military strategist. When there is a disagreement in the historical record all sides are given but the most reasonable interpretation is marked as such. Thoroughly enjoyable, I raced through it in a matter of a couple of weeks, transfered by the history and language. Highly recommended.